


Of the Night

by RenkonNairu



Series: Tomorrow Knight [1]
Category: DCU (Comics), Red Robin (Comics), Superboy (Comics)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Author secretly hopes no one will read this, Day 1 Fathers, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Kon is an overprotective dad, M/M, Omega Verse, This is actually a pretty shitty fic, Tim's and Kon's kids wanna be superheroes too, TimKon Week, as always Tim is the voice of reason, the kids names all end in '-el', the last line is SO cheesy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2017-09-27
Packaged: 2019-01-06 04:47:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12204159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RenkonNairu/pseuds/RenkonNairu
Summary: -Omega Verse-Tim and Kon's son thinks he ready to put on a costume and join in the family business. Kon objects. Tim overrules him.





	Of the Night

**Author's Note:**

> So, I wrote and posted this before I saw the prompts for Tim/Kon week. But this fits the prompt for Day 1 "Fathers" so well, would it be completely terrible if I retroactively tagged it for Tim/Kon week?

Kon's Superman uniform was all black. No underpants on the outside for him. Honestly, after years of flying around in a teeshirt and jeans, Tim still sometimes marveled at the fact that he wore a real costume at all. All black unitard with red cape and belt -and, of course, red S-shield. Kon might have finally given in and gotten himself a real costume, but he wasn't gonna give up his old colors.

Tim sat on the couch of their Metropolis apartment, fingers practically flying over his laptop keyboard. But he still managed to appreciate the view of his mate out the corner of his eye. At a physical age equivalent to a human 30-year-old and Kon cut his most attractive figure yet. Especially in the skintight suit that hugged his body, displaying every muscle and contour of that perfectly chiseled demi-kryptonian frame. There was a reason why the Omega stuck with him -ya know, besides the fact that they were madly in love and had three children together. 

“I'm heading out on patrol.” Kon announced in his 'Superman II voice'. It didn't last long. He lapsed quickly back into his 'I might be a clone of the original Superman and an Alpha, but I have no idea what I'm actually doing with myself voice'. So, basically, his normal voice. “Wanna come with?”

Saving the document he was typing, Tim looked up at his mate. “I have so much work to do. There's the meeting with the board on Monday, and I have to make sure we outbid Powers Technologies for Ace Chemicals. Like hell am I gonna let Derek Powers get a hold of twenty years worth of supervillain-creating toxins!” A pause. Tim glanced at their children. “Plus, someone's got to make sure these little beasts get their homework done.”

Their two youngest shot him disgruntled glares. Only nine and seven and already they were starting to imitate Tim's 'bat glare', only with just the slightest hints of indignation -inherited from Kon, no doubt. 

“If you want backup, take Dan with you.”

Their eldest nearly dropped his L-Pad and fell off the couch at the suggestion. Daniel stared at his parents. He was already fourteen, older than either of them were when they put on Capes and took up the good fight. But neither of them had ever let him accompany them on patrol before! He wasn't about to pass up this opportunity!

Daniel shot to his feet. “I can be ready in five minutes!”

He dashed from the room.

Kon stood frozen, rooted to the spot, staring at Tim. 

Daniel was their first born, and they were really too young when they had him. Tim's Omega body wasn't fully mature yet, not really ready to birth an Alpha's offspring -especially not a half-kryptonian Alpha who's synthetic hybrid genetics introduced unquantifiable variables. When Daniel was born he was premature for an earthling and undersized. Lex was convinced he wouldn't make it to a year old. Now at fourteen he had a kryptonian's super strength, enhanced hearing, infrared, x-ray, and telescopic vision. But not microscopic or heat vision. He didn't have freeze breath, or Kon's TTK either. He couldn't fly. 

On top of all that, Daniel was an Omega. 

Kon tried to remind himself that, that shouldn't matter. That Tim was an Omega and he was one of the best, most competent, and capable heroes he knew. But while Kon knew all this academically, it didn't change the fact that his Alpha instincts told him that he had to protect, guard, and shelter his vulnerable Omega offspring. 

“Are you sure about this?” He asked. 

But Tim had gone back to his work. 

Kon glanced over his other two children whom were watching him. His eyes met Ariel's and a small thread of understanding passed between them. Ariel was only nine and his Alpha instincts still immature and developing, but growing up and maturing surrounded by an Omega parent and an Omega sibling he was already becoming familiar with an Alpha's -sometimes irrational- need to protect the Omegas in their lives. 

Daniel emerged from his room wearing a costume Kon had never seen before. All black with a yellow utility belt. A quick scan with x-ray vision showed him that the belt mostly contained the grappling guns, spare hooks, and refill gas canisters he would need to move about the city since he couldn't fly. The cape was red. As was the shield on his chest. A pentagonal shield same as the El-crest, but instead of the traditional S of the House of El, there was the silhouette of a bird in profile -the same symbol from Tim's Red Robin uniform. 

That struck a cord with the demi-kryptonian for some reason. Daniel was more of a 'Robin' than he was a 'Superboy'.

Kon opened his mouth. Realized he didn't know how he could refuse the boy without upsetting both him and Tim. To spite the fact that he was half Luthor, Kon never did manage to develop much skill when it came to subtly and manipulation. 

“I, uh, I actually don't really need backup.” He managed to stumble out awkwardly. “I mean, I am Superman, after all.” He hoped the lopsided grin he was flashing looked easy-going and casual. 

Daniel's expression didn't 'fall' per say... He was too much Tim's son to let all his emotions show. It was just a slight downturn of the mouth in a perplexed frown. An arching of the eyebrow in confusion. Nothing so big and obvious as actual disappointment. But his scent told an entirely different story. Daniel might be able to guard and control his expressions, and maybe if he weren't an Omega he would succeed in keeping his emotions concealed. But Omega's scents shifted and fluctuated with every shift in emotion so that Alphas could better attend to their needs. Daniel's scent spiked with sudden betrayal, rejection rolling off him in waves. 

“You don't want me to go with you?” 

Tim closed his laptop and glared up at his mate. He could smell the shift in their son's scent just as well as the Alpha could. That, and he knew their son. Tim's scent rumbled with quiet frustration, mild accusation, and his own hints of disappointment at his mate. 

Kon had to do some quick explaining or else he was going to have two upset Omegas on his hands. 

“I mean...” What? What other way could he possibly spin that statement to imply something other than 'I don't want you out there with me'? If there was a way, Kon couldn't think of it. It was time to change gears. Go for a different tactic. “Actually, Tim,” he started, addressing his mate. Appealing to the other adult in the room for support. “It might be better if we started him off with the Titans first.” 

“I can give the Tower a call.” His mate nodded, his scent not shifting from suspicious and disappointed at all. “But you can still take Dan out today.”

Shit. Tim wasn't taking his side. Kon learned long ago that he never could win against Tim. 

He still didn't want to throw his under-powered, quarter-kryptonian, Omega son into the dangerous and sometimes life-threatening world of superhero crime fighting. Every Alpha instinct he had was compelling him to lock the boy up in his room where he'd be safe. He fixed Daniel with a critical stare. The boy couldn't fly. There was still one other way Kon could get out of this with his Omegas' feelings intact. “You can't fly, Dan. Are you sure you'll be able to keep up?”

“I've got my grappling equipment.” Daniel indicated the belt around his waist.

“I manage to keep up with you just fine.” Tim added. 

Daniel's scent shifted again. From betrayed and disappointed to hopeful and optimistic. He had one parent's support -and it was the parent that generally maintained control over the household. He reached into his utility belt and pulled out a domino mask, fixing it over crystal-blue eyes that were so much like Kon's own. Gosh! But with that mask hiding the upper part of his face and the eyes he inherited from Kon he looked so much like Tim! 

Tim whom did always manage to keep up with Alphas and Betas to spite the extra stresses it placed on his Omega body. Who didn't back down from and wasn't intimidated by people with superpowers capable of crushing him with a single hand. Tim who was stubborn, and who's body suffered for his stubbornness. Physical injuries that could have been avoided if he just let Kon -or, hell! anyone of the Titans- help him when he needed it. Extra stressors and strains placed on his body that he didn't need to endure if he would just admit that being an Omega meant that he had different physical needs than the rest of the Betas and Alphas around him. 

How many times had Kon carried his unconscious and exhausted body into the Tower's infirmary because Tim had pushed himself past his limits? How many times had Batman come to collect Tim from the Tower because he did not trust him to remain safe far from home during the most vulnerable points of his cycle?

And now Tim was encouraging Kon to allow his son to jump headlong into all that. 

Ariel cleared his throat. The other Alpha jumping to his father's aid. “Actually, Danny, I might need you're help here.” He indicated the homework he'd been ignoring to watch their parents' drama play out. “I don't wanna distract Mom from his work, and you're the next best at explaining variables and imaginary numbers.”

Kon could have zipped across the room and kissed his second son for his aid. Like Kon, his Alpha instincts prompted him to protect and care for his Omegas. But unlike Kon, Ariel had Tim's grift for subtlety and manipulation. He could keep Daniel out of costume and off the streets, but still make him feel validated and needed -like a real hero. Only nine years old, and Ariel was already a better Alpha than Kon was. 

“Yeah, okay sure.” Daniel took his domino mask off and sat down next to his brother. Placated. 

But Tim wasn't fooled. He studied his children for a moment, before turning a particularly harsh glare to his mate. Accusation rolling through his scent like waves on the shore. There was nothing more frustrating -in his opinion- than two Alphas united against him. 

Neither of them had to say anything. Kon knew they were going to be discussing this [read: arguing about this] for some time after the Superman returned from his circuit of the city. 

…

There were lots of advantages to having super-hearing. 

Being able to hear your parents fight from across the hall and two doors down was not one of them. 

Daniel was wide awake, sitting upright in bed, hugging a pillow and listening to every word his parents said, and knew -beyond an possible shadow of any possible doubt- exactly what each of them thought about the idea of him taking up the Cape. 

“You are being completely unreasonable right now! Ya know that!” Mom was hissing. He was trying to keep his voice down. Even so angry that it could be heard in his voice, he was still conscientious and mindful of the fact that the walls had ears. Very keen kryptonian ears. (Not that his attempts to keep the volume down mattered.) 

“No. For once, I'm actually being the reasonable and responsible one!” Pa snarled back. Snarled, because that was the default Alpha response to a challenge. Snarl, and growl, and snap. Try and intimidate the other into submission. 'I am Alpha, I know best!'

Daniel hugged his pillow closer to his chest. He didn't even have to be in the room and smell that overpowering Alpha scent. Just hearing his father's aggressive voice triggered something base and instinctual in the Omega and made Daniel want to offer his submission and slink away. 

Mom, however, didn't seem to display any such feelings. “Oh, stop that! Don't think you can just flood the air with pheromones and make this conversation go away! Dan is older than I was when I first put on a Cape! And, unlike me, he has the benefit of having been trained from the time he could crawl! So, don't you dare say he's too young, or not ready. My son is fucking ready!”

He couldn't help the small swell of pride that blossomed in his chest when Mom said he was ready with such confidence and conviction. 

“Tim... please...” Pa rumbled, he wasn't going to give up this fight. It wasn't in an Alpha's nature to give up a fight. But he also wasn't going to offer any contesting arguments to support his side. 

“Please, what?”

“Try to see it from my side?” Pa offered. 

There was silence.

Daniel knew the conversation wasn't over. It wasn't the cold tension of mates going to bed angry. It was the hot but bated pause that always accompanied a particularly potent glare being fixed on an unfortunate target. Mom was staring Pa down. 

“Don't give me that look.” Pa groaned. “You know what I mean.”

There was another pause. This one shorter. “Do you know what you mean? Do you actually know what your reason for objecting even is?”

“Of course I do!”

“Alright, then lemme hear it!” Mom demanded. 

Daniel held his breath, waiting for his father to say it was because he was an Omega. Because, honestly, that was the only objection he could think of. Not having the full set of kryptonian abilities wasn't a real excuse. Mom didn't have any powers at all and he not only managed to keep up with Pa while in uniform, but also exceeded him in some aspects of the job. It couldn't be because he was 'too young' ether. Mom was twelve when he first put on a Cape, and dad had started his hero'ing pretty much from the moment he 'hatched' from his cloning tube. 

So, if it wasn't because of his age, and it wasn't because of his incomplete inventory of powers, then it had to be because he was an Omega. 

This hypothesis was only supported when Pa didn't immediately answer Mom's question. 

Daniel's bedroom door opened and Ariel sauntered in without the curtesy of a knock or permission. Typical Alpha. Swaggering around like they were the boss of everything. 

He crawled onto his brother's bed and folded his arms over his chest with a silent huff. “You'd almost think they want us to hear everything they're saying.”

“Go away, Ari.” Daniel snapped. 

Alpha's didn't take orders well, not unless they were being given by an older or more intimidating Alpha. So Daniel didn't really expect the younger boy to move. But Pa was talking again, and so both boys ignored each other to listen. 

“It's not what you think.” Pa was saying, his voice pleading for Mom to understand and come over to his side. “You think I don't want Dan in a Cape because he's an Omega.”

Ariel noticeably cuddled closer to his older brother and Daniel was frustrated with himself at the fact that being comforted by an Alpha did genuinely make him feel a little better. “I don't need to be taken care of by my little brother!” He snapped at the younger boy.

“I'm an Omega!” Mom was reminding their Pa. “Clearly, being Omega is not the problem.”

There was another pause.

“Well... it is and it isn't.” Pa finally admitted. 

That was it. Daniel had confirmation now. He buried his face in the pillow he was hugging and this time did not object when Ariel moved under the blankets to cuddle him properly. Wrapping both arms around his older brother and pulling him into a tight -super tight- hug. Daniel lifted his head away from the pillow just enough to turn his face into the younger boy's shoulder and breath in that strong and comforting Alpha scent. 

Gabriel came into the room then. A glass of milk in one hand, his L-pad in the other. 

“Jeez, Pa, why don't you tell us how you really feel.” He scoffed. 

“Shh! He'll hear you!” Ariel snapped at the younger boy. 

Gabriel paused at the Alpha's command, listening for any indication that his parents might be paying attention to anything besides each other. When he was confident Pa was not scanning for sounds that his children might still be up and alert, Gabriel came up to the bed and set his glass of milk down on Daniel's bedside table. “I want in on this slumber party.”

He crawled in on Daniel's other side. But, unlike Ariel, didn't cuddle up too close. He was only seven, his body still too young to begin producing the hormones that would decide what cast he belonged too. But it was already abundantly clear by how inattentive he was to the other Omegas in the family that he was not going to be an Alpha. He sat with his brothers, and listened to their parents argue. But he didn't join in their cuddles or scent communications. He sat on the bed, sipping his milk and reading what looked like an age-inappropriate fiction on his L-pad. 

“Stop giving me the Bat Glare! You know what I mean!” Pa all but cried. For an Alpha, he was starting to sound pretty hysterical now. 

“Clearly, I don't.” Mom's voice remained even and calm through out this whole exchange. Of course, Mom's voice was almost always calm and controlled. Even when he was so mad that his Omega pheromones flooded a room with so much distressed scent it would be hard for even a Beta to breath. One could only imagine what the inside of their parents' bedroom smelled like at that moment. 

“Look, I don't want Dan out there just because he's an Omega.” Pa finally began stumbling through an explanation. A real explanation. Awkward pauses, unsure hesitations and everything. “Its because he's an Omega and I'm an Alpha, okay? Look, its hard enough when I go out with you -especially during certain parts of your cycle. But you're an adult and you've kicked my ass enough times that even my instincts have been trained to trust you. But Dan...” he trailed off, no doubt searching for the right words to explain his objection, “...Dan's my child.”

“He's my child too.” Mom reminded him. “I almost died for that kid! In fact, I could argue that he's more mine than yours since he lived inside me for 36 weeks, has more Bat training than Ari or Gabe, and is an Omega like me.”

“Nice to know who Mom's favorite is.” Gabriel commented without inflection. Since he wasn't even old enough to have a cast, it was a little difficult to tell if that was just another deadpan snark of his, or if he were genuinely upset. His scent did not indicate either way. He took another sip of his milk. 

“Mom and Pa don't have favorites.” Ariel argued. 

Daniel lifted his head to stare at his younger brother. “Yes they do. Everyone knows you're Pa's favorite.”

“Tim, can we not start that? Please.” Pa was pleading again. Looks like the honest and heartfelt explanation portion of their conversation was over. “I didn't mean it like that. I just meant- gah! You know I'm not good at this! Maybe I'd be different if I was a real person and not an artificial clone but... as much as my instincts go crazy when you're in danger and as much as I feel I need to look out for you and keep you safe, its a million times stronger with Dan. The problem isn't that he's an Omega, the problem is that I'm an Alpha and he's my Omega offspring!”

Silence followed this declaration. 

All three siblings strained their keen, sensitive kryptonian hearing to try and catch whatever non-verbal communication was going on between their parents. 

Finally, “Okay.”

“Okay?” Pa echoed, voice hesitant, unsure, and... scared? Mom must be giving him another selection from the gallery of Bat faces he possessed. 

“Okay.” Mom repeated. There was the sound of a closet opening. Fabric being shifted. Drawers being opened and closed. 

“Wait, what are you doing?” Pa demanded. 

“I'm fixing the problem.” Mom announced. There was the sound of leather being pulled over skin. Zippers, buckles, snaps. A rustle of heavy fabric that was distinctly Mom's cape. Two distinctive clip and snaps of Mom's bandoliers, then a third clip-snap for the utility belt he wore around his waist. “Since you can't handle Dan being out with you, I'm taking you out of the equation.”

“Wait, Tim-”

A door opened. 

Bootsteps in the hall. 

Then Mom was standing in Daniel's doorway wearing the full Red Robin uniform -san's the cowl. The scent of his argument with Pa wafted off of him. An uncomfortable blend of frustration, impatience, honest to goodness anger, and... fear? The fear wasn't his. That was Pa's scent that still clung to him. The room must have been thick with it. Now, however, the fresh scent radiating off their mother was that of purpose and resolve. The scent of a calm Omega with an objective. 

Tim regarded his three children for a moment. “I take it you heard that.”

“Only 'cause we were eavesdropping.” Gabriel confirmed, he turned off the screen of his L-pad. 

“Hm.” Eavesdropping, he said. Tim knew perfectly well that even if his children hadn't been actively listening to his conversation, they still probably would have heard most of it -if not everything. Kryptonian hearing could be a bitch sometimes. He made a mental note to see a contractor about getting a quote for sound-proofing the boys' rooms. None of them were at an age anymore where Tim and Kon needed to listen for sounds of distress in the middle of the night. “You two, go back to your rooms. I need to talk to Dan.”

Gabriel shrugged, collected his glass of milk and left. 

Ariel hesitated just a moment longer. Daniel still smelled of self-doubt, disappointment, and inadequacy from overhearing what Pa said, and Mom still smelled like frustration, anger, and Pa's fear. His still young an inexperienced Alpha instincts were telling him he needed to stay and take care of his Omegas. 

“Ari.” Mom's voice had that warning undertone to it that indicated he understood why his instructions weren't being followed, but that insubordination still wouldn't be tolerated. “This is not a job for an Alpha-” in fact, in this specific case, an Alpha was the problem “-you don't have to go back to bed, but you can't stay here.”

Reluctantly, the younger boy disentangled himself from his older brother and slunk out of the room. 

Finally, Tim and Daniel were alone. “Put your costume back on. We're going out.”

“We are?” The boy blinked. 

“We are.” Tim nodded. 

Daniel practically vaulted out of bed. He threw off his night shirt and pajama pants and slid open his closet, pulling out the costume he had angrily shoved in there earlier that day. There was some graceless struggling and some choice language Tim did not exactly approve of as he hastily struggled to get it on. Finally, Daniel fastened the last clasp on his boots and stood in full costume -san's the mask- in front of his mother. 

Tim didn't say anything just lead him into the living room, to the double doors that lead out onto the balcony. He stopped them just before stepping outside, however. Reaching into his son's belt for him, he took out Daniel's mask and fixed it to his face, making sure it was secure. The adhesive solid and not in any danger of peeling off. Satisfied that his son's identity would be secure he turned a critical eye to examining the rest of the costume. 

“I like the shield.” He said at length, placing a hand over the robin's head inside its pentagonal El-crest border. “Have you decided what you're gonna call yourself?”

“Super Robin.” Daniel announced. Then flushed, because it sounded so stupid when he said it out loud. No where near as cool as he was imagining in his head. 

Mom gave a snort. Oh, gawd! He thought it was stupid! Was it stupid? Is was stupid, wasn't it!

“I should change it.”

“No, no.” Tim insisted as he got himself back under control. “No. Its-” he was about to say cute, but he caught himself “-fitting. It's really fitting.”

Tim pulled his own cowl over his head and strolled out onto the balcony. Fishing in his utility belt, he pulled out a grappling gun and waited for Dan -Super Robin- to do the same. 

It took Super Robin only a moment to follow his mother's example and produce his own grappling hook and gun. 

Then they were swinging through the night lights of Metropolis.

“Ya know, its actually better that you ended up coming out with me instead anyway.” Red Robin announced. “Superman's great and all, but us Robins... We are the night.”

…

END


End file.
